Mechanical ballot.



No. 881,821.. PATENTED MAR. 10, 1908.

D. L. NBWGOMB.

MECHANICAL BALLOT.

APPLICATION FILED MAY 23,1904.

4 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

27 27 z5 -1 mzww f Ina/6772 Zw M @BCP ezwZLJ/fwcaw No. 881,821. PATENTEDMAR. 10,1908.

k11A.Amwcolms. MECHANICAL BALLoT.

APPLICATION FILED MAY 23,1904.

4 SHEETS-SHEET 3.

-PATENTBD MAR. io, 1908.

D. L. NBWGOMB. MECHANICAL BALLOT.

APPLICATION FILED MAY 28,1904

UNrTEDSTArns PATENT onirica.-

'DAvm L. NEwroMB,orsanjnraeo, CALIFORNIA.

MECHANICAL Bannon i N0. 881,821, spebic'ation of Letters. Patent.PatentedMarch 10, 198.

'Application led May- 2 3, 1:904. v'Serial210.209,231.

Mechanical Ballot/of which the following.

isa specification. f

This invention rel ates tofa ballot which is portable andwhichispro'vided with movable members operated'by the voter forindicating the choiceeof candidates, and which` after beingjprepared bythevoter is 'ada ted to .be` placed in asuitablemachine whic registersthe v o'teaccording as the ballot is prepared.

- This ballot is similar inmany'respects to, andis designed to bean'improvement on the ballot'shown 4in my applications for lpatent*SerialNumber 11 1`,561, .led June 13, :19.02," and'Serial Number 167,921August 1, 1903,01?.

which applications this-isacontinuat'ion as to such features thereof as'are shown herein.

One form of machinewhich is adaptedtowork with `this ballot is shown ina former application of, iiiine, tiled Juner 17, 1903, Serial Number161,773. L One vobject' ofthe inventionis to provide a ballot of thecharacter described withfwhic'h it is possible to conform to themany-requiref men-tsat present in vogue; which is-lightV in y weight,compact, strong, accurate, easily manipulated, and `proof againstfraudulent operatiom Another objectbf the invention is to pro# vide anovel, convenient and efficientdevice' by which astrai'ght ticket foreither of the' political parties may bevoted by themanipulation of asingle movable member.

Another Objectis to provide a novelsi,1n

f ple. .and efficient yn ieans for voting. Yes for N 0 asyonconstitutional'amendments. 'Another object is to prov1de -anvel and'efcie'ntdevice forpferrnitting the operation of eitherfon'e oftwomovable' members and lpreventing the simultaneousoperation of oth,whereb if 7 one of .the` two movable menibersisfsliiifted and the othermovable memberjthen shifted, the iirst will be auto-l maticallyrestored.

Another object is' ofyprovid'e lsimple'andv effective means l(which mayreadily-be set `atthe limit desired, previous to the voters manipulationofthe ballot) whereby a certain number 0f tappets in a definite block onthe ballot maybe freely erected, irrespectivel of provision beingmaderfor vvsegregatmg one Vor 'more sectionsl of theballot which itmaybe desired to vote cumulatively.- vVVhe'n one or s more 'sections ofthe ballot have been so set aside for cumulative voting, the remainderof thegball'ot'is still adapted for the regular segregativ'e voting.

`lIt may happenj that `two parties, Greven more, will have the same"candidate for a certain office, and another object isto provide 'to votefor the samecandidate more than one time.

I lThe invention comprises a detached, port-l v means wherebyitis'impossible for the voter at .right angles totheballot/,toindicatea,

ychoice of candidates, and extensible means arranged in series forlimiting the number of selections so'ma'de.

The accompanying drawings illustrate the invention and referrin theretoz-.Figure 1 is a plan 'view ofthe allot with the tape .pets depressed'in the posit-ion they have before being raisedby the voter; 'in theln-` dependent? yc olumn,fo`ne itappet has been y shown raised-'and anIndependent ballot is 4shown in-position, beingsustained by the erectedtappetjand yin .the".ConstitutOnal amendments column, two tappetgs havebeen shown as-.moved-bythe'voter, one voting "Yes and theother NQ.'perspective of a raised tappetfand a portion Lof the top vplate andillustrates `the 'manner in which Y an 1 Independent ballot"l issupported by* 'the yoweredge of a tappetnhen the tappet iserect;v ,fFig. 3y is a 'planvIeW of the ballot with the top .plat-e, removed, and

gives a. comprehensive view of" the general yarrangement and.connectionsof' the trackersvv lwhich connect the tappets 'with the'carns.

Owing, to the size of .the view and smallnesa ofthe detail features ofthe c 'arns Iand tappets, these details have been omitted to. preventblurringof the' lines. Figui is ade'tai'l plan view, enlarged, oftheerector tappetfand adjacent mechanism which is usedin voting a straight.ticket.. Fig. 5 is a View, vpartly 1n section, taken on line `xsf-15V,Fi t 4.5 Fif. is a view,= partlylin section -taven on iine -XL-XF, 4.Fig. 7 "isla side 'elevation of an ordinary tappetI 'and adjacent partesequence or `position, forl cumulative voting,

of a lballot.4 Fig". 8 is al perspective view,

Fig. 2 rsa on a somewhat smaller scale, of a portion ofthe dividersupports. Fig. 9 is a plan view, enlarged, lof eight 'cams and theadjacent dividers, divider supports, and cam shaft.v Fig. 10 is a view,partly in section,

taken on line x10-x10, Fig. 9. Fig. 11 is al detail view, on a somewhatreduced scale, taken on line x11-x,- Fig. 9, and illustrates a dividerturned into'` its grooves inthe divider supports. Fig. 12 -is a vvievi7similar to Fig. 1 1 -showing the divider turned out of the grooves. Fig.13 is a detail view in perspective of a cam. Fig. .14 is a perspectiveview of a modified form'of tappet showing how the same may beconstructed of one Y ieee of sheet metal. The tappet is shown 1n placeon a shaft. Fig. 15 is a-sectional view taken on line x15-x15 of Fig.19, and illustrates the manner of attaching the top and bottom plates ofthe ballot tothe ribs. '.Fig. 16 is a perspective view in detail showinga part of one of the ribs. Fig. 17 is a perspective view in detailshowing the form of tappet used in voting forconstitutional amendments.Fig.

18 isa sectional view taken on line xls-nx, Fig. 17. Fig. ,1-9 is atransverse, vertical; sectional view taken through the ballot show- -ingonly the right hand part of a ballot thus embracing but' two tappets,both of whichA are depressed, and illustrates in detail the connectionbetween the tappets and their cams, and also the auxiliary device foralternative voting between two tappets.' Fig. 20 is a view similarl toFig. 19,il ustrating oth .,tappets raised 'land having turned theircams.

Fig. 21 is a perspective of the form of tablet* used for independentcumulative votin The casing of the ballot comprises a ottom plate 1;ribs 2 have notches 3 which receive slotted posts 4 and the bottom 1 isde tachably'fastenedto the posts 4 by screws 5. The upper edges of theribs are flanged and provided with perforations 6, and a to plate 7 forthe ballot may be permanenty fastened to the ribs 2 by dropping solderthrough the perforations 6 in the ribs on to the top plate. The bottomplate, top plate and ribs are preferably'formed of a thin, light andvstrong material, and by soldering the to plate to the ribs in themanner mentione uckling and warping of the top plate is avoided. Theedges of the ballot are by suitable side walls 8. y

Extending along the right hand side of the ballot a pair of walls 9 areprovided which form supports for revoluble lates or dividers 10. In thepresent em odiment, 44 .dividers are provided spaced equirlistantl apartand pivotally mounted on a cam sha t 11. The inner faces of the dividersup orts 9 are concave and have grooves 12 whicli are adapted to receivethe convex ends of the dividers 10, the ends of the dividers beingcurved concentrically with thecam shaft. The width of the dividers` 10is slightly less closed than the distance between the nearest edges ofthe divider walls, and the dividers 10 being revoluble on the cam shaft11- are free to be moved longitudinally of the divider walls when theyare turned into the position shown in Fig. 12, while when a divider isturned on the'cam shaft 1-1 so that its convex edges enga e in thegrooves in the' divider walls, it is oc.' ed against-'shifting along thecam shaft between the divider walls.

The dividers- 11 are not'. turned by the voter, but are to. be prorlysetfor a givenl election by the proper ol cial before Athe ballot isput in 'us'e, and 'as' the dividers are housed within the casing of theballot, they cannot be altered by the voter. Inorde'r to hold thedividers from turningI a pair of locff ing bars 13 and `14are providedwhich lie res ective'ly onithe up r and lower edges of the outer dividerwal 9, and the lower'locling bar 14-may be fastened to the divider wallat suitable intervals by screws`15 which ass through slots 16 in thelocling bar `v14. he 1oc` ing bars project slightly over the corners ofthe dividers and prevent the dia viders from turning out of the grooves.accidentally. By first removing the bottom 1 of the ballot from theribs 4 and loosening the screws 15,# the locling bar 14 may be shiftedsidewise ,soas to disengage the lower corners of the dividers so that asmany of the dividers'as desired' ma then be turned into the ositionshown in A ig. 12, after which the o'cling bar 14 is moved bac1r intoits ori inal `position and the screws 15 tightened. hen this has beendone` the dividers which have been turned out ofthe grooves are' free to-move alon the cam shaft, while those dividerswhic have not been turnedout of the grooves are maintainedin position by the locking bars. This'device is employed for cumulative and segregative voting, the lformerbeing arranged for b turning the dividers vertically so as to beslidable along the cam shaft, and the latter being provided forbyllo'clling the dividers in the grooves. Thus the dividers may be soarranged` that cumulative voting is possible on part ofthe ballot, whilesegregative voting ma be done on the other part; or, by turning a l ofthedividers into the grooves, segregative voting isal'one possibleoverthe entire ballot.

. The cam shaft 11 extends from end. to end'.

of the ballot, and arranged in each space between the dividers lare fourpair of cams, each pair comprising r' ht .and left' cams 1'7- and 18,respectively. e opposing faces of the members of a pair of cams areprovided with A a pair of diametrically opposite, peripheral, segmentallugs 19 having tapered ends or shoulders 20. The facesof t e lugs 19 areparallel with 'the face-of the cam, while the tapered shoulders 20 arerather abruptnbeing preferably formed 4at an angle of thirty .degreesfroml a perpendicular to the face of up, in all likelihoodhe will atplete themovement ofthe tappet to either of the positions into which ithas been started. Thus, if a voter is careless in raising his .perfectlydepressed, as f there is only one p oint 1n its movement where thespring would not act upon it, whichpoint is when the ear 29 is on adead-center.

Extending from thehub at substantially right angles to the line 4of thetappetis ata pet arm 31 to the end of which is pivot ly.

attached one end. of .a tracker 32.v The tracker 32 extends alongbetween the ribs 2 and its other end is attached toanfear of itsilpspecgtive cam (see Figs. 19 and 20.. also i 3 7. here are in Lnepresent embodiment eighttappets in each-horizontal row and each tappetin a; row is connected .to its respective c am in the alinedspacebetween the ividers, as shown in Fig.. 3. The tappet which lies nearestthe earn shaft obviously will have the shortest tracker, while thetappet at theextreme left of the row will have the longest tracker,intermediate tappets havingV trackers of a length corresponding to theirpositions in the-ser1es.

In order to concentrate the greatest number of cams in the smallestpossible space,

, the cams are made inrights andlefts as explained, and alternate`tappets in a horizontal series connect with the top ears 22, while. theother tappets in the series connect with the bottom ears 23 of the cams.Thus, the two trackers which' are 'connected to the two mates of a pairof cams, lie substantially in the same vertical plane when looked atfrom the top, as shown in Fig. 3, althou h, of course, there is someVdivergence in t e trackers, but inlFig. 3 the lines have been drawn toshow onlyfthe toptrackers, and it .may be assumed that those trackerswhich are connected tothe lower ears 23 lie direct-ly under the trackersshown in-Fig. 3.l

Thus, a tappet at the extremeleft of the series may be connected withits tracker to the upper 'ear 22 of the bottom cam in the series, asshown in Fig. 3 the tappetnext to the right of this tappet may beconnected by its tracker (which is concealed by the firstmentionedtracker) to the lower ear 23 of the mate of the first cam mentioned; thenext.

connects with the tappet arm is slightly upturned, as shown in Figs. 19and 20, so that when a tappet is erected, as shown in Fig. 20, thevivotal point of connection between the trac er' and the tappet arm willlie somewhat above a horizontal line drawn through the pivotal axis ofthe tappet, so that a slight reaction vis allowed for, the tracker whichwill lock vthe tappet erect, and which will insure that any tensilestrain on the tracker which might occur through contact between thecams, will hold the tappet erect and not depress it, as might be thecase if the pivotal point of connection lay directly ine withv thepivotal point ofthe tappet, orL

slightly below. When atappet is raisedvby the voter,.its tracker turnsits connected cam and causes the cams `-in the associated seriestospread and fill the space between the dividers. When the' tappet isdepressed, the tracker 32 pushes the cam into its normal position andtheassociated cams in the series are relaxed. As the turning of one cam ofa group spreads lall the cams ofithat group so that they fill theirspace between two dividers, it is obvious that' only 'one tappet' oftheeight formin a horizontal row may be raised. Thus, t e voter may erectonly one tappet for a given ofhce which lies under one the sevenpolitical parties or under the Independentf He may' raise the tappetsfor the different offices in any sequence and may depress all, or partonly, of thoseI raised, if he changes his mind, and mayerect'others inplace of those he depressed.

It sometimes ha pens that two or more parties will have the samecandidate to be elected.and provision has 'to be made for preventin .thevoter from voting for the same. can idate twice. To this end I haveprovided a iexible Vconnection 34 (see Figs. 19 and 20), which is at oneend connected to the tappet plate, as shown, and which runs under asmallsheave l35 and thence over a tappet, lthe connection at its otherend being attached tothe bottom of the ballot. Sufficientslack isprovided in the cable 34 so that only lone of the two tappets may beerected, and when one ofthe two tappets is erected the cable 34 will betaut, and it will be impossible to raise the other tappet; while if oneof the two tappets has already been raised and the voter 'afterwardlraises the other tappet (which may stand for the same man under anotherpolitical party), the first tappet he may have erected will be restoredto its depressed position through the tightening of the cablev as the'second tappet raises. This devicevrnay only be applied to the .ballotwhen necessary to provide for the contingency in which two partiesnominate the same candidate.

Fig. 1 shows the appearance of the face of the ballot. The names of thepolitical parties are printed at the. top, the ballet being divided intovertical columns, one col# umn.v for each party, land a column each'fori 'theu Independent and Constitutional amendment?" votes. In each partycolumn, a tappet is provided for each candidateify the party, anddirectly over the tappetf may beprintedthe title of the oflice; forinstance, For .governor,7 and under the tappet may be vprinted the nameof the candidate for that oIice.

In casting a vote for an independent candidate, the voter will Write thena'ne of the candidate upon a slip of paper which he will preferablyfold to conceal the name and then insert in a tablet 37, and he will'place the tablet upon the face of the ballot in the Independent columnupon the square which alone Will not sustain the tablet in position,

but will allow the tablet to fall when the tappet is depressed.

In' the Constitutional amendmentsI column is provided a simple devicefor vot* ing"Yes or No (see Figs. 17 and 18), which comprises a cap 39whiclris fastened to the top plate 7 by a screwr'4() and which has asegmental opening 41. Pivoted to the screw 40 and resting fiat upon thetop plate 7 and projecting through the slot 41, is a s cial tap et 42having a vertical finger 43.`

` his specia tappet may be formed of a single reo piece of sheet metal,the finger 43 being struck up'from the bottom plate of the tappet 42. Acoil spring 44 is provided within the cap 39 and presses upon the top ofthe tappet plate 42 so that the tappet plate is he d frictionally inposition against the top late 7,'and three depressions 45 are formed mthe,y top plate 7 which are adapted to engage with a small knob 46formed on the under side of the tappet plate 42 so that when the tap etis turned toward the word Yes, the knoll)` 46 will engage in one ,of-thedepressions 445, and when the tappet is turned toward the word N o, theknob will engage in the extreme opposite de ression 45 while when thetap et stands mi way between the two Words f es and No/f the knob willengage the intermediate depression 45; the three depressions, togetherwith the spring 44,l serving to yieldingly hold the tappetl in l,

In order to set either of the three positions. the ta pet lin 'er 43 inthe proper position so that wqien the allot is placed in the machine thevote will be registered, it is necessary that the tappet be turnedAuntil-the knob 46 clicks into either one of the outside depress sions45. Thus,l to vote Yes, the voter turns fthe tappet toward the Word Yes,and for No toward the Word No, If heleaves it at the center no vote ismade.

In yvoting a straight ticketmeans are provided whereby by erecting asingle special tappet at the top of the desired party column all of thetappets in that column are simultaneously erected lf the voter desiresto split his ticket after he has voted the party column straight, he mayvdepress such individual tap pets as he desires which stand forcandidates he does notwish to elect, and he may erect other tappetsunder other parties in horizon- .tal rows which respectively correspondor aline with therespective tappets which'he has depressed from thestraight ticket; he may ere'ct onlyas many tappets outside the straightparty column ashe has depressed in the straight party column, and he canraise only one tappet in each horizontal row.

If the voter has -voted a straight ticket andA has yafterward depressedone or more tappets in that vertical column, and has raised cer taintappets outside the column; and, if he has afterward changed his mindand again wishes to.,` erect those particular tappets which he hasdepressed, he may do so by first turning down the latest raised tappets.

a Inasinuch as all of the tappets for a given party are mounted on thesame tappet shaft, it is obvious that with suitable means, by rockingthis shaft all of the tappets on the shaft may be erected. This isaccomplished by providing the hub 28 of each tappet with 100 a segmentalslot 47 through which a'pin 48, which is fixedly attached to the tappetshaft, projects:

The slot 47 permits of a movement of 45 of the tappet with respect to agiven position of the pin 48, and when the tappets are depressed the pinlies against the u per shoulder formed b the slot 47 so that if theshaft 26 be Mturne in the direction of the arrow (see Fi s. 4 to 6), thepins 48 bearing against 110 th'e Wa ls of the slots will rotate the hubsof all the tappets in the same direction and v thereby erect all of thetap ets. If, now, 4a single ta pet be pushed bac/Il( or depressed, theshoul er of the slot in the hub of the tappet will bear against therespective pin and will turn the shaft 26 back as the ta pet descends,but the other tappets on the s aft ,will stand erect as all of the pinson the shaft 26 sweep through the slotsin the hubs of the 120 erecttappets, the individual springs 30 main-- taining t ose tappets erect. 5To rotate the shaft 26 to erect all of the tappets, an 'erector tap etor straight ticket tappet 49 is employed w A ed in the shaft v26.,and'which has a segmen tal notched plate 50. An operating arm 51 isrigidly attached to the shaft 26 and has a toe 52 which .rests4 againstthe side of the segmentalr 1nate .A spring .53 iscoiled 330 ich isloosely mountaround the shaft 26, and one end rests against the toe 52while its other end is engaged by one of the notches in the segmentalplate 50, and the spring' 53 tends to yieldingly hold the toe 52 againstthe plate 50. Byadjusting the end of the spring 53. in the notches, itstension may be regulated.

One end of an extension spring 54 is connected to the plate 50 and theother end may be connected to any stationary oint such as a sleeve 55loosely mounted on t enext nearest shaft 26. Referring to Figs.4, 5, and6, when the erector 'tappet 49 is moved up in the direction of thearrow, through the me dium of the spring 53 it causes the operating arm51 to turn in the direction of the arrow,

and as the operatingarm 51 turns, the shaft `26 is turned with'it,thereby raising all the ta ets on that taplpet shaft( he tension oftsoon as the voter lets go o the erector ta pet 49 it immediatel resumesitsdepress'e position, being pul ed back by the spring 54, and as itturns back it carries with it the arm 51 and the tappet shaft is thusalso automatically turned back to normal position. Hence, the raisingmovement of the erector tappet causes the tappet shaft to be turnedclock-wise by a resilient strain, while the lowering movement of theerector tappet causes the tappet shaft to .be turned counter-clock-wise.positively. Thus, when either of the erector tappets is raised, itsrespective tappet shaft is turned and theregular tappets on thatarticular tappet shaft are erected and lie d erect by'their individualsprings, While the erector tappet andta pet s iaft turn back to originalposition. t is then impossible to raise any more tappets on the ballotas the cams have been spread so that each group fills the allotted spacebetween the dividers. lf the ticket is then split, it is obvious thatnone vof the depressed tappets in the strai ht ticket column can beralsed, either b t e voter` `trying to raise them individually with hislingers, or by means of the erector tappet, for while he may readilraise the erector tappet, the only effect will e to stretch the sprlng53, as the tappet shaft is locked from turning bythe depressed tappetsin the straight ticket col umn, certain of the pins 48 on the tappetvshaft being ositively opposed by the end walls of the s ots 47 in thedepressed tappets.v Thisree action of the erector tappet thus foils theattempt to raise the depressed tappets and is a great check againsttampering and obviates any unnatural strains and pos-l sible breakagefrom either ignorant or intended misuse of the ballot.

In cumulative voting, as in voting for residential electors, judges,supervisors, `sc oolboards or trustees,l and the like, the ballot setbefore being put in use, by turning lsome of the dividers free to throwtwo. or

blank.

e sprin 54 is such that as ymore groups of cams into one lar" e group inwhich the cams are all associate in asingle series, as 'man dividers,less one, being turned free as' tliere are to beelected candi' dates.This will form a block of tappets op'- posite the series of associatedcams in which tappets may be raised to the number limited by theallowedspreading spaceconfining the associated cams. The names of theelectors or other candidates are placed on the face of the ballet nextto 'the tappets as in. segregative-"voting, but obvious there may bemore tappets in the block thus set Aaside than there are electors toreceive the vote; in`such event,'only certain of the tappets will havenames ofelectors, while the rest will'fbe left In the block oftappets'thus formed for cumulative votin tappets may be raisedpromiscuousl l unti the Y- limit has been reached, at w 'ch time thecams in the series have been 'spread so that they completely fll* theallotted space betweenthe two'confining dividers. i

If there are lsome blank ltappets on the block and a voter raises someof them, they. will not count, except in a negative way by vreducing byjust that many votes forfelectors whichcan only4 be secured by raisingtappets which are named. For example, 1f there are thirty-sixpresidential electorslto be elected,

the allot shownwill -place Itwo hundred thirty-five dividers are turnedfree, which in eighty-eight cams into' series. As for each' orlginalgroup of eight cams sufficient spacev was. allowed for the turning ofone cam, so

now there is sufficient space to allow of turn- Y ing thirty-six cams;therefore, thirty-six tappets ma be raised. Thetappets raised ma e in aunc'h or they may7 be scattered. f in the present case the rstfourhorizontal rows of tappets and four adjacent tappetsin the nextrowbelow to complete the -thirt six, are raised, the first thirty-sixcamsat t e top of the ballot will be turned, and as the tappets areraised one after -another bythe voter, the spreading action is graduallytransferred down through the entire two hundred eighty-eight-cains, sothat the raising of the last tapfpet will just fill the bottom gap inthe series o cams. When a cam is turned its resulting sidewise movement-carries the end of its tracker slightly out of ldirect alinem'ent withits other end, which obviously lengthens y .the tracker distance betweenthe cam, and

tappet. While 1in segregative voting this lateral movement of a trackerend is practically negligible, it has tp be provided for: in cumulativevoting, especially in the case just mentioned in which the thirty-sixcams at the end 4are turned, as the lateralmovementsof the trackersgradually increase toward the lower cam, the resulting shortened trackerdistance of the last lower tracker being appreciable. Thefree motionallowed between-two mates of a, pair. of cams before theirl inclinedsensei case referred to the lower cam will sustain its necessary lateralmovement and be allowed to turn thev resulting requisite distance beforeits inclined shoulder makes contact with its.

mate. This free motion also allows the cam to accommodate thereactivemovement of the tracker as its tappet end moves above thedead'center as before described. n

l/Vhen in cumulative voting'the voter de sires to cast an independentvote for one or more different .erson's whosenames 'are not on theregular allot, he writes the name or names on a slip of paper which hethen inserts in a tablet 50,- and he places the tablet '5&0 on'the faceof the ballot so that'its ribs engage in lthe grooves 38 in the to plateHe then erects asoman tappts in tfie independent column as he as wr'ttennames on the paper, raising one ta pet opposite each name, and the heelsof tliese ytappets stand over the edge ofthe tablet and sustain it inposition, the grooves 38 alone being insufiicient. Thus, for exam le, ifthere are eight trustees to be elected'eighthorizontal rows of tappetson the ballot will be set aside and the tablet 50 will be long 'enou hto extend over the eight spaces or bloc s in the independent column. Itmay be assumed that four of the trustees whose names are duly printed inthe allotted spaces overl the tappets lmeet with the approval of thevoter and he therefore raises their respectivetapplets; While theremaining four votesiwhich e is permitted tol make he desires to castfor other persons. He therefore writes these four different names on aslip of paper ywhich o he folds'and inserts in the tablet; he vthenplaces the tablet in position and raises four tappets in the independentr'ow, irrespective of 4position in the row. He now has raised the limitof eight tappetsl and can raise no more. Y p v It is manifest that inconstructing the bal lot, as many party columns may be provided x asdesired, and the nurpber ofcams in a group should be provi 'tid tocorrespond.

Thus, lfor six .party columns (in this sense used party column includesthe ifInde-- pendent column), six cams may be employed; for ten partycolumns,l ten cams, and so on. As many tappets in a party column may beemployed as there are offices to be filled.

After the tappets have been'set by the voter, which is preferably donein secrecy, the voter places a suitable cover over the ballot whichhides the face and he, hands it to the proper lifficial wh places theballot in a suitable machine whi h re isters the vote according'to thesetting of t e .tappets-and incidentally.. automatically restores thetappietsso that when the ballot is taken from the machine its appearanceis normal, giving no clue, even to the oflicial, ofthe vote.

The machine is constructed to stamp, rintor markthe slips of pa er onthe ta ets in the indepenr ent co umn. ln segre ative votingeach slipof' paper will have on y one mark as the marking evice in the machine isoperated through the agency of the tappetwhich is raised over thetablet.` The mark applied to the pa ver authenticates the paper andshouldV be o a character not easily counterfeited. ln the kcumulativeindependent `voting there will be as many marks on the paper as thereare tappets erected in the independent column of the cumulative section.Thus, if the voter -writes his four names and only pulls up threetappets, only three marks will be made and when the paper .is examinedin the count, this will be noticed and' the paper may be thrown zout. lfthe voter writes his four names andpulls up `five tappets over thetablet, five'marks will appear, and while the election officials maycount that vote, the.

lvoter will have limited his ticket for the regular candidates by the`superfluous tappet on the tablet.

The great advantage of the large tablet for independent cumulativevoting over the use ofthe smaller ones for individual tappets such asare used in segregative voting,'is in the absolute check it affordsagainst a voters attempt to vote for the same person several times onone ballot. Thus, if the small indir vidual tablets were used the votercould'.

Write the same name on each one, and in thej count this duplicationmight not' be observed duced by a consecutiver numbering device whichproduced a different numeral for each ballot; while though numeralscould be used leverywpaper cast in lthe independent vote must becompared. But with the large tablet, all of the names which the-votercan write for his independent choice, appear on one paper and in compactorder, so that if veven though the marking character was provalue, thecomparison must be accurate and he has duplicated a name, detection ispositive in the count. The ballot is then ready for another voter. Asthe preparation of a ballot by a voter, on the average, takes severaltimes longer the time consumed when 'the ballot is in the machine, bysupplying several votersieach with la ballot, voting isl greatlyfacilitated and is carried on with apparatus costing very much less thanin that stylev of machine using no ballot, in lwhich only one voter canvote at a time.

What l claim is :f-

Y2ol

1. A top plate a plur'a'hty of tappets adapted `to be raisedperpendicular thereto; an erector tappet, and means operated by theerector tappet 'for raisin the tappets.v

'2.' A top' plate, a p urality of tappetsl adapted to be raisedperpendicular thereto,

' an erector tappet, and meansA operated by the erector tap et forraising several tappets-'si-*- multaneous y.

3.- A top plate., a plurality of movable;

members adapted to be raised perpendicular thereto, a special movablemember, and means, operatedby the special'memher for changing therelativepositions vofseveral of the movable members. l v

4. A top plate, a plurality of tappets adapted bto be raised.perpendicular thereto arranged in party columns, erector tappets for thecolumns and means operated an erector *tappet for raising the vtappets1n adapted to be raised perpendicular thereto,

an erector tappet,. means operated by the erector tappet for raising thetappets, means for yieldingly holding the tappets erect when so placed,and means for restoring the erector tappet. y Y

' 8. A shaft, a plurality of. tappets pivoted thereon, means forlimiting the turning of the tappets respectively to the shaft, and anlerector tappet for turning the shaft and rais# ing the tappets, thevlimited movement of the tappets enabling one or-more tappets to beindividually depressed-When'the others are raised, or to,\beindividually raised when the others are depressed; if desired.

9. A shaft, a plurality of'ta pets pivoted thereon, means for limitingthe turning of the tappets on the shaft, .and an erector tappetresilientl for turninfvr the s ait and raising the tappets.

10. A shaft, a lurality of ta pets plvoted thereon, means or limitingtlIie turning of the'tappets on the shaft, an erector-ta pet pivoted onthe shaft, an arm on thevs aft, and a spring between the arm and theerector tappet.

11. A shaft, a plurality of tappets pivoted thereon, pins on the shaftfor the respective tappets and adapted to bear against shoul- -ders onthe hubs of the tappets, an erector tap et'pivoted to the shaft, an armonthe sha t engagmg the erector tappet, means for connected wit-h theshaft resiliently holding4 the erector tappet against the arm, and aspring for depressing the erector tappet.

12. A plurality of ivoted tappets, supporting means, indivi ual springsconnected tov the tappets and to the supporting means,

4one end oi aspring being attached to the supporting means onv a medianline with-the axis of a ta pet", the other end of the spring beingattacY ed-to the tappet at a point which is onthe median line when thetappet is in van intermediate position.

f .13. Ashaft, a lurality'oftappets pivoted thereon, means or limitinglthe. turning of the tappets 0nthe shaft, a pivoted erector tappet, anarm on the shaft, -the erector tappet `having a series of notches, andaspring connected to the arm and engaging in one of the notches.

` 1.4. A plurality of tappets arranged rows, meansfor locking a definitenumber of promiscuous tappets in a row, erector tappets, and meansoperated byA an erector tappet for raising a definite tappetin each row.

l5. A top plate, a plurality of tappets arranged in a column on the topplate, an erector tap et, means operated by the erector tappet orraising the ta ets in the column, in combination with a ta et adapted tostand under the heel of the ta pet.

16. A top plate, a p urality of tappets arranged in a column on the topplate, an erector tappet, means operated by the erector tappet forraising the tappets in the column, v

in combination with a ta et ada ted to stand under the heel of thetappet, a ri onthe tablet, the top plate having grooves adapted toreceive the rib.`

17. A top. plate, a plurality of tappets arranged in a column on the topplate, the topplate having grooves adjacent the tap ets, 1n combinationwith a separate tablet ac apted to'stand under the heel of a tappet, andribs onthe tablet for engaging inthe grooves.

18. A detached Vmechanical ballot comprising a top plate, a special tapet pivotcd:

to swing in the plane of the to p ate, a symbol on the top late at onesi e of a median line -through t e vaxis of theV tap et, and anothersymbol on the other side o the median line,'othertappets of the.character set fort-h, and interlocking `mechanism for said tappets.

19. A .top plate, a capthereon, a special tappet projecting .from underthe cap, a

screw' passlng throughl the cap and tappet Ainto the top plate, anda'Spring-between the cap and tappet.

20. A topplate, a cap thereon, a special tappet proJecting from underthe cap, a screw passing through the cap and tappet into the top plate,a spring between'the cap and tappet, the to plate having a plurality ofdepressions, an a projection on the tappet adapted to engage in thedepressions.

dicating a choice of candidates, and extensi' ble means for limiting thenumber of selections so, made.

45. A mechanical ballot rovided With permanently-attached movab emembers for indicating a choice of candidates, and extensible meansarranged in series for limiting the selections so made.

146. A mechanical ballot provided with movable members for indicating achoice of candidates, and means for o erating a plurality of saidmovable members simultaneously. A

47. A mechanical ballot comprising a casing, tappets pivoted thereto,and means for operating a plurality of said tappets simultaneously.

48. A mechanical ballot comprising va casp ing, tappets pivoted thereto,and a tappet cerector plvoted to the casing for actuating a plurality ofsaid tap ets..

49. A mechanica ballot comprising a casing, tappets pivoted thereto, anda tappet erector comprising a plate hinged to vthe casing.

50.' A mechanical ballot comprising a cas-- ing, tappets pivotedthereto, a Series of cams,

means connecting said cams With said tappets, and means for limiting,the aggregate spreading apart of said cams.

51. A mechanical ballot comprising'a casing, tappets pivoted thereto,a-series of cams connected to said tappets, slidable cams intermediatethe first-named cams, and means for limiting the over all's read'ofsaid' cams. In testimony Whereo I have hereunto signed my name in theresence of two subscribing Witnesses, at os Angeles, in the county' ofLos Angeles, and State ot' California, this 14th day of May, 1904.

DAVID L. NEWCQMB; Witnesses: i

GEORGE` T. HACKLEY, JULIA ToWNsEND.

